Women's soccer out of NCAA tournament, cross country starting up

Nov. 17, 1998

From staff reports

Women's soccer

eliminated from NCAA tournament

The Baylor women's soccer team was defeated 5-4 by Northwestern University in the second round of the NCAA tournament Sunday afternoon in Waco. The Bears (15-5-1) were the regular-season Big 12 champions, but lost two straight to end the season, including a second-round loss to Missouri in the second round of the Big 12 tournament last weekend.

Junior forward Courtney Saunders and junior midfielder Nikki Hales each had two goals for the Bears, but it was not enough to counter the Northwestern offense, which scored their five goals on 12 shots. It was only the third time this season Baylor had given up more than two goals in a game. The eight goals given up by the Bears over the last two games equaled the total given up by them all season, excluding a 5-0 loss to top-ranked North Carolina in September.

Baylor was playing without sophomore starting goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse, who missed the last three games with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Jones, who started the last three games for Greathouse, recorded 12 saves in her limited action, but also gave up nine goals.

After going down 4-2 late in the match, Baylor stormed back with goals by Hales and Saunders. However, a goal by Northwestern's Erica Westrich in the 84th minute put the Wildcats in the lead for good, 5-4. The Bears were unable to tie the match again, despite numerous scoring chances late. Northwestern (16-4-1) will move on to the third round to face the No. 2 seeded Florida Gators.

Women's cross country advances to

NCAA tournament

The Baylor women's cross country team advanced to the NCAA Championships in Lawrence, Kan. with a second-place finish in the South Central Regional meet this weekend in Denton. Baylor finished behind Arkansas with a score of 69 and just ahead of Texas, which finished at 87 points. It was the sixth top-five finish for the Bears this season, who finished fifth at the Big 12 championships.

Junior Karin Ernstrom led the Bears, finishing fourth overall with a time of 17:29. Senior Sherri Smith, who has finished in the top five in every tournament she has run in this season and was the Big 12 individual champion, finished just behind Ernstrom in fifth place with a time of 17:30. Cecillia Jeverstam and Nancy Dollar finished 13th and 15th for the Bears, respectively.

The NCAA meet will be held November 23rd at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. The women's race will begin at 10:30. The Baylor team finished 18th overall in last year's tournament, led by Everstam, who finished 47th.

Volleyball team loses

to Nebraska, Colorado

The Baylor volleyball team dropped to 14-15, 6-9 in the Big 12 last weekend after losing to two conference rivals.

No. 3 Nebraska swept Baylor 15-8, 15-7, 15-1 Friday night in Lincoln, Neb. in front of a sellout crowd of 4,142 fans. Elisha Polk had 11 kills but had 12 errors. Three other Baylor players also had negative hitting percentages. Nebraska now stands at 24-0, 15-0 in the Big 12.

The Lady Bears then faced the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder on Sunday. Colorado defeated Baylor 15-6, 15-8, 15-5. Colorado is now 20-4, 13-3 in conference play. Despite the three-game loss, Polk managed to have 17 kills.